Tribe's future meets its past at Mashpee Wampanoag powwow

Traditional culture will be on display this weekend on Cape Cod, as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe holds its 92nd annual powwow.

“It’s an exposition of who we are as a people,” Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. “You always hear about the Mashpee related to casinos.”

Gerry Tuoti

Traditional culture will be on display this weekend on Cape Cod, as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe holds its 92nd annual powwow.

“It’s an exposition of who we are as a people,” Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. “You always hear about the Mashpee related to casinos.”

The tribe, which is pursuing the development of a casino in Taunton, will hold the powwow Friday through Sunday at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds, 1220 Nathan Ellis Highway, East Falmouth. The powwow runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. The event is open to the public with a $13 admission fee for those 12 and older, and $8 for children under 12 and seniors age 65 and older. Children under 5 are admitted for free.

It will feature traditional dance, music, crafts and cuisine, including a clambake.

“People don’t realize it, but the clambake is something we started,” Cromwell said.

Keturah Peters, 17, of Mashpee, will end her yearlong reign as powwow princess when a new girl is crowned this weekend. The annual powwow holds deep meaning for her.

“I’ve been participating for my whole life,” she said. “It means a lot. It’s what our ancestors have done for many years. It puts us in touch with our ancestors and culture, and it helps keep our culture alive. It shows people in town and the younger generations our culture and how important it is.”

The theme of the powwow is “Keepers of the East,” a celebration of the Eastern woodland tribes. Members of the Narragansett and Shinnecock tribes are also expected to participate.

“There are East Coast tribes who have a shared history, a shared impact, a close relationship,” Cromwell said.

Eastern woodland culture, dress and customs differ significantly from what is generally portrayed in Hollywood stereotypes, he explained.

“Hollywood made it out West,” he said. “What they did was generalize what Indian culture is about. There are over 566 recognized tribes.”

The Eastern tribes were the first to make contact with the European settlers in the colonial era.
“We were impacted 200 years before any tribes were impacted out west,” Cromwell said.
Eastern woodland culture, he said, had many influences on the white settlers.

“The U.S. government is modeled after the longhouse system,” he said. “We helped them through their first hard winters. Our culture advanced into European culture. What’s exciting about it is we are still here. We still live here.”

Special events during the powwow include a canoe race in memory of Sly Fox, beginning at 6 a.m. Saturday. The fire ball game, a ritual spiritual game featuring a fire-lit ball, will be played at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The powwow princess pageant and the clambake will be held Sunday.

“We’re very excited to put on this powwow and share our Native American Indian culture with our neighbors and friends,” Cromwell said. “We really want people to come out and share in it. I think once we know each other, we begin to understand each other.”